Golden Dawn: Political Party or Criminal Organization?
Page 1 of 1 [ 7 posts ]
12 Nov 2019, 6:05 pm
GOLDEN SUNSET
by Mariah Stoain
Posted on The Nib November 8th, 2019
Mariah Stoain wrote:
In June 2019, I was escorted by HumanRights360 to sit in on a court day in Athens, as part of their XThemOut Campaign.
Golden Dawn is a far-right political party whose leaders are accused of heading hit squads targeting leftists and migrants with violence. They are self-described fascists, nationalists, and Nazis, fixated on violence.
And right now, they're at the center of an enormous trial that could imprison and banish them from Greek Parliament.
Founded as an ultra-nationalist pro-military group in the 1980s, Golden Dawn became a political party in 1993, and exploited the euro crisis to rise to prominence in 2011. Its leader and founder, Nikolaos Michaloliakos, has said:
"Let them know that we don't like being in Parliament. If they want, we'll abandon it and take to the streets. Then they will know the meaning of Golden Dawn, the meaning of war and struggle, the meaning of bayonets sharpened on the pavement."
For decades, Golden Dawn went largely unpunished for its violence, until the 2013 murder of a Greek anti-fascist rapper, Pavlos Fyssas, prompted the investigation and arrest of many Golden Dawn members. The ensuing trial contains many charges relating to several incidents, among them murder and attempted murder.
In total, there are 69 Golden Dawn members on trial, including all of its Members of Parliament.
The combination of all these charges is set to answer the key question:
"Is Golden Dawn a criminal organization?"
The prosecution presented evidence that the violence of Golden Dawn members is not the doing of lone wolves, and that its senior members head up hit squads targeting those perceived as opponents.
• May 2018 -- Gulbaz Mohammed attacked by four men in the street
• January 2013 -- Shahzat Lukman stabbed to death on his cycle to work by two men with links to Golden Dawn.
• September 2013 -- Attack on Communist party members by 50 Golden Dawners.
• June 2012 -- Attack on Egyptian fishermen at home.
In this ideology, brutality is the point. Historically, organizations like Golden Dawn have explicitly aimed for violence and genocide. Golden Dawn didn't invent hostility toward minorities, but it has fueled a rise in violence, contributing to a 14% increase in hate crimes in 2018. Nearly a quarter targeted Pakistani nationals.
And in Parliament, mainstream parties have adopted harsher stances on immigration to appease voters lost to Golden Dawn.
"Greece has become a center for illegal immigrants." -- Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, 2012
During my day in court the focus was on the murdered rapper case. After a confrontation with some Golden Dawners at a cafe, an assault battalion returned after midnight and stabbed Fyssas to death on the orders of their local leader. There was a flurry of phone calls between Golden Dawners that night, including the local branch leader, Giorgos Patelis.
Fyssas identified his killer before he died: Yorgos Roupakias.
18 of the 69 defendants were expected, but only 7 showed up, with the others offering flimsy excuses. Notably, none of them were high on the food chain. Patetlis himself was one of the absentees.
This trial began in 2015, and has moved slowly due to deliberate stalling by the defense. For example, Golden Dawn lawyers once requested to read 2,000 parliamentary questions.
Two of the defendants testified the day I was there. One, who had a "security" role, denied having knowledge of the incident. The other claimed he just happened to drive by, and he was calling to talk to his friends.
This trial isn't just about Greece. Paradoxically, though Nationalist, far right groups reach across borders to support one another. They praise each other, encourage each other to engage in violence and dismantle existing institutions.
The notion of the big picture is at the center of the Golden Dawn trial. Individual cases could have been concluded by now -- Roupakias admitted to killing Pavlos Fussas back in 2013. Yet the trial goes on. Because those men who carried out the attacks are small fry. It's the leaders of Golden Dawn who are ultimately responsible for its violence. The fish rots from the head. The leaders have evaded showing their faces in court.
A verdict that Golden Dawn is indeed a criminal organization would invalidate their existence as a party, and would set a key precedent. At the time of my visit, Golden Dawn has 18 elected Members of Parliament. By the end of the summer, they would lose them all -- a result of their absence from Parliament, which itself was a result of their stalling in court.
Greece is writing the playbook for how to deal with powerful Neo-Nazis. The world should be watching.
Golden Dawn is a far-right political party whose leaders are accused of heading hit squads targeting leftists and migrants with violence. They are self-described fascists, nationalists, and Nazis, fixated on violence.
And right now, they're at the center of an enormous trial that could imprison and banish them from Greek Parliament.
Founded as an ultra-nationalist pro-military group in the 1980s, Golden Dawn became a political party in 1993, and exploited the euro crisis to rise to prominence in 2011. Its leader and founder, Nikolaos Michaloliakos, has said:
"Let them know that we don't like being in Parliament. If they want, we'll abandon it and take to the streets. Then they will know the meaning of Golden Dawn, the meaning of war and struggle, the meaning of bayonets sharpened on the pavement."
For decades, Golden Dawn went largely unpunished for its violence, until the 2013 murder of a Greek anti-fascist rapper, Pavlos Fyssas, prompted the investigation and arrest of many Golden Dawn members. The ensuing trial contains many charges relating to several incidents, among them murder and attempted murder.
In total, there are 69 Golden Dawn members on trial, including all of its Members of Parliament.
The combination of all these charges is set to answer the key question:
"Is Golden Dawn a criminal organization?"
The prosecution presented evidence that the violence of Golden Dawn members is not the doing of lone wolves, and that its senior members head up hit squads targeting those perceived as opponents.
• May 2018 -- Gulbaz Mohammed attacked by four men in the street
• January 2013 -- Shahzat Lukman stabbed to death on his cycle to work by two men with links to Golden Dawn.
• September 2013 -- Attack on Communist party members by 50 Golden Dawners.
• June 2012 -- Attack on Egyptian fishermen at home.
In this ideology, brutality is the point. Historically, organizations like Golden Dawn have explicitly aimed for violence and genocide. Golden Dawn didn't invent hostility toward minorities, but it has fueled a rise in violence, contributing to a 14% increase in hate crimes in 2018. Nearly a quarter targeted Pakistani nationals.
And in Parliament, mainstream parties have adopted harsher stances on immigration to appease voters lost to Golden Dawn.
"Greece has become a center for illegal immigrants." -- Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, 2012
During my day in court the focus was on the murdered rapper case. After a confrontation with some Golden Dawners at a cafe, an assault battalion returned after midnight and stabbed Fyssas to death on the orders of their local leader. There was a flurry of phone calls between Golden Dawners that night, including the local branch leader, Giorgos Patelis.
Fyssas identified his killer before he died: Yorgos Roupakias.
18 of the 69 defendants were expected, but only 7 showed up, with the others offering flimsy excuses. Notably, none of them were high on the food chain. Patetlis himself was one of the absentees.
This trial began in 2015, and has moved slowly due to deliberate stalling by the defense. For example, Golden Dawn lawyers once requested to read 2,000 parliamentary questions.
Two of the defendants testified the day I was there. One, who had a "security" role, denied having knowledge of the incident. The other claimed he just happened to drive by, and he was calling to talk to his friends.
This trial isn't just about Greece. Paradoxically, though Nationalist, far right groups reach across borders to support one another. They praise each other, encourage each other to engage in violence and dismantle existing institutions.
The notion of the big picture is at the center of the Golden Dawn trial. Individual cases could have been concluded by now -- Roupakias admitted to killing Pavlos Fussas back in 2013. Yet the trial goes on. Because those men who carried out the attacks are small fry. It's the leaders of Golden Dawn who are ultimately responsible for its violence. The fish rots from the head. The leaders have evaded showing their faces in court.
A verdict that Golden Dawn is indeed a criminal organization would invalidate their existence as a party, and would set a key precedent. At the time of my visit, Golden Dawn has 18 elected Members of Parliament. By the end of the summer, they would lose them all -- a result of their absence from Parliament, which itself was a result of their stalling in court.
Greece is writing the playbook for how to deal with powerful Neo-Nazis. The world should be watching.
Maria is a Romanian-Canadian illustrator based in Scotland. Her first graphic novel, Take it as a Compliment, published in 2015, is a collection of real-life stories of sexual violence. Her website is mariastoian.com
14 Nov 2019, 9:13 am
The_Walrus wrote:
... The Golden Dawn is a horrible organisation and I'm glad that they're collapsing. Now if that could spread around Europe a little bit...
... and around America ... a lot ...
_________________
14 Nov 2019, 11:52 am
vermontsavant wrote:
I thought the order of the golden dawn was an occult religious organization popular in the early 1900's based mostly on hermetic kabalah
They are two separate organizations.Quote:
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (Latin: Ordo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae; or, more commonly, the Golden Dawn (Aurora Aurea)) was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of the occult, metaphysics, and paranormal activities during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as a magical order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was active in Great Britain and focused its practices on theurgy and spiritual development. Many present-day concepts of ritual and magic that are at the centre of contemporary traditions, such as Wicca and Thelema, were inspired by the Golden Dawn, which became one of the largest single influences on 20th-century Western occultism.
The three founders, William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott and Samuel Liddell Mathers, were Freemasons. Westcott appears to have been the initial driving force behind the establishment of the Golden Dawn.
The Golden Dawn system was based on hierarchy and initiation like the Masonic lodges; however women were admitted on an equal basis with men. The "Golden Dawn" was the first of three Orders, although all three are often collectively referred to as the "Golden Dawn". The First Order taught esoteric philosophy based on the Hermetic Qabalah and personal development through study and awareness of the four Classical Elements as well as the basics of astrology, tarot divination, and geomancy. The Second or "Inner" Order, the Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis (the Ruby Rose and Cross of Gold), taught magic, including scrying, astral travel, and alchemy. The Third Order was that of the "Secret Chiefs", who were said to be highly skilled; they supposedly directed the activities of the lower two orders by spirit communication with the Chiefs of the Second Order.
Source: The Hermetic Order of the Golden DawnThe three founders, William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott and Samuel Liddell Mathers, were Freemasons. Westcott appears to have been the initial driving force behind the establishment of the Golden Dawn.
The Golden Dawn system was based on hierarchy and initiation like the Masonic lodges; however women were admitted on an equal basis with men. The "Golden Dawn" was the first of three Orders, although all three are often collectively referred to as the "Golden Dawn". The First Order taught esoteric philosophy based on the Hermetic Qabalah and personal development through study and awareness of the four Classical Elements as well as the basics of astrology, tarot divination, and geomancy. The Second or "Inner" Order, the Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis (the Ruby Rose and Cross of Gold), taught magic, including scrying, astral travel, and alchemy. The Third Order was that of the "Secret Chiefs", who were said to be highly skilled; they supposedly directed the activities of the lower two orders by spirit communication with the Chiefs of the Second Order.
Quote:
... Golden Dawn ... is a ultranationalist far-right neo-Nazi and fascist political party in Greece. Though the group rejects these labels, its members have expressed admiration for the former Greek dictators Ioannis Metaxas of the 4th of August Regime (1936–1941)] and Georgios Papadopoulos of the Regime of the Colonels (1967–1974). They have also made use of alleged Nazi symbolism, and have praised figures of Nazi Germany in the past. According to academic sources, the group is racist and xenophobic, and the party's leader has openly identified it as nationalist and racist.
Michaloliakos began the foundations of what would become Golden Dawn in 1980, when he published the first issue of the right-wing, pro-military junta journal with that name. In this context, Golden Dawn had its origins in the movement that worked towards a return to right-wing military dictatorship in Greece. Following an investigation into the 2013 murder of Pavlos Fyssas, an anti-fascist rapper, by a supporter of the party, Michaloliakos and several other Golden Dawn MPs and members were arrested and held in pre-trial detention on suspicion of forming a criminal organization. The trial began on 20 April 2015 and is ongoing as of 2019. Golden Dawn later lost all of its remaining seats in the Greek Parliament in the 2019 Greek legislative election.
Source: Golden Dawn
Michaloliakos began the foundations of what would become Golden Dawn in 1980, when he published the first issue of the right-wing, pro-military junta journal with that name. In this context, Golden Dawn had its origins in the movement that worked towards a return to right-wing military dictatorship in Greece. Following an investigation into the 2013 murder of Pavlos Fyssas, an anti-fascist rapper, by a supporter of the party, Michaloliakos and several other Golden Dawn MPs and members were arrested and held in pre-trial detention on suspicion of forming a criminal organization. The trial began on 20 April 2015 and is ongoing as of 2019. Golden Dawn later lost all of its remaining seats in the Greek Parliament in the 2019 Greek legislative election.
_________________
16 Nov 2019, 6:57 am
Sounds like this Greek "Golden Dawn" is the Greek KKK, part political faction, part domestic terrorist organization. Never heard of them before.
I guess theyre running out of names for things. This 'golden dawn' apparently has nothing to do with the old British "Golden Dawn" who were an apolitical bunch of harmless flakes, who were into magical woo woo. Lol!
The Egyptian goddess "Isis" has to have her name repurposed for the "ISIS" lead by the late Baghdadi. Not only unconnected to the Egyptian goddess namesake, but (among other forms of fanaticism) dedicated to destroying all trace of any pre Islamic civilization in the Middle East -including that of the ancient Egyptians, and their gods and goddesses (like Isis).
The UN should start rationing names. Tell folks that your organization can kill and terrorize all that they want, but you gotta register your name with us to make sure it hasn't been used before!
Page 1 of 1 [ 7 posts ]
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